1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the manufacture of sausages and, more particularly, to a system in which sausages, after having been formed into interconnected links, are delivered to a freely detachable bar from a state in which the sausages are suspended in looped form from a suspending device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two methods are available for suspending a chain of linked sausages from a bar. One is to deliver the sausages to the bar after they have been temporarily suspended in loops on a suspending device by means of a looper. The other is to suspend the sausages from the bar in loops by transfering them to the bar directly from the looper.
Examples of the former method are disclosed in the specifications of Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 41-5899, Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 59-50294, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 59-91833, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,495. An example of the later method is disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 60-117423 published on Dec. 4, 1986.
Among the examples of the former method, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 41-5899 and 59-50294 disclose apparatus for automatically forming linked sausages into loops and suspending the loops of sausages. The group of suspended sausage loops is delivered to the bar en masse usually by manually passing the bar through the group of loops and then lifting the bar.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-91833 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,495 disclose apparatus for automatically delivering a group of suspended sausage loops to the bar. The method of delivering the sausage loops includes automatically passing the bar through the loops suspended from a screw shaft in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-91833 or conveyor hooks in U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,495, and thereafter delivering the sausages to the bar one loop at a time from a position at the forward end of the bar while the bar is caused to slide automatically, or delivering the loops of sausages to the bar en masse by lifting the bar automatically.
According to Japanese Patent Application No. 60-117423 representative of the latter method, one end of the bar is faced toward a looper, the sausages are hung directly on the bar in looped form, and the loops are advanced along the bar in successive fashion so that the loops are spaced apart a predetermined distance. Suspending the loops directly from the bar in this manner raises operating efficiency.
A number of problems are encountered in the prior art mentioned above.
First, in the method of delivering the sausage loops to the bar manually, as typified by Japanese Patent Publication No. 41-5899, the bar is inserted into the loops of sausages, which are hung from the suspending device, from one end of the group of loops while pushing the loops to the side in such a manner that the sausages are no damaged This method is disadvantageous in that, besides requiring the bar insertion step, the step itself has a low operating efficiency.
In accordance with Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-91833, the bar must be slid to a point directly below the screw shaft, which serves as the suspended device, in the operation for delivering the sausages to the bar. The start of delivery to the bar only becomes possible once the bar is situated directly below the screw shaft. Accordingly, the only advantage over the art disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 41-5899 is that the bar is inserted automatically. In other words, the step of inserting the bar is still required. This results in considerable idle time and necessitates a complicated mechanism. The automation of the bar insertion step does not solve these basic problems. In addition, the loops are delivered to the bar from the forward end thereof and do not move from this position. Therefore, when it is desired to lengthen the bar in order to accommodate a larger number of loops, the portion of the screw shaft that is to accept the bar must also be lengthened. This results in an apparatus of large size.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,495, it is necessary for the bar to be thrust into the loops of sausage hanging from the conveyor hooks serving as the suspending device, and to subsequently lift the bar to which the loops have been so delivered. In this respect the disadvantage is the same as that encountered in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-91833, namely excessive idle time.
Thus, the arrangements that deliver the sausage loops to the bar automatically both possess the same drawback, namely the need to move the bar after it is inserted into the loops suspended from the suspending device.
The arrangements for delivering the sausages to the bar automatically also have a number of other shortcomings.
Specifically, since the bar is inserted into the suspended loops from one end thereof, each loop must possess a shape having a space where the loop will not make contact with the bar. However, with sausages made using natural intestine as the casing, the loop configuration is devoid of tension owing to the nature of the intestine, so that the suspended sausage links to the left and right of the bar come into contact with each other. The same is true for sausages made using an artificial casing if the size of the sausages is small, and the sausages to the left and right of the bar tend to be suspended in a twisted state in the manner of a rope while in contact with each other. Sausages having loops of such a shape are damaged by the butt end of the bar or make it impossible to insert the bar.
Furthermore, since the bar is inserted into the loops from its one end, the bar is capable of being supported solely at its other end. This necessitates a special-purpose bar of high rigidity, for if the loops of sausage suspended from the bar take on great weight, the bar ordinarily used in sausage manufacturing factories will be too slender and insufficiently rigid.
Japanese Patent Application No. 60-117423, which represents the latter method of sausage delivery, does not possess the drawbacks of the other prior art since the sausages are hung or draped directly from the bar. However, the art taught in this application does have certain shortcomings.
Specifically, when a full string of sausages has been hung from the bar in loops, the leading and trailing ends of the string are subjected to so-called terminal processing. However, since processing the trailing end of the string of sausages cannot be performed at the same time that the suspending of the sausages is completed, this processing is carried out during the step for suspending the next string of sausages. Accordingly, with the method of the above-described application, the bar from which the sausages have been suspended is temporarily moved to another location at the completion of the suspension step, and the trailing end of this string of sausages is then subjected to terminal processing while the next string of sausages is being hung from another bar. In other words, the bar is moved temporarily before the trailing end of the sausages is processed. This results in such operability-related problems as suspension of activity when the bar is moved, as well as an operation which is comparatively complicated.